Aravalli poaching complaint at Union minister’s door

A delegation of 15 environmentalists met the Union minister on Thursday and urged him to take the form a special task force to curtail poaching and illegal tree felling in the eco-sensitive areas of the Aravallis.(Parveen Kumar/HT FILE)

Environmentalists on Thursday met Union environment minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan and urged him to take action against poachers in the Aravallis.

On December 9, a resident moved a complaint alleging poaching in the Aravallis, near Tata Raisina Residency on Golf Course Extension Road. Another resident wrote to the state government and the forest department on December 17, seeking action against people involved in rampant poaching in the forested terrain.

“Rampant poaching is taking place inside Aravalli forest, at Behrampur village. This is a major concern. We are told that metal traps are often laid to catch wild animals. Over the last twenty days, we have been drawn to cases where peacocks were peacocks were spotted with their legs caught in metal traps. They were bleeding. We also spotted metal traps laid for jackals and other animals, apart from peacock feathers scattered in places, bones, leftover skins and carcasses of cattle.Such findings by the animal activists were immediately brought to the notice of the police and the forest department. However, despite being alerted, no action was taken to stop poaching,” Shivani Sharma, honorary member, Animal Welfare Board of India, said.

A delegation of 15 environmentalists met the Union minister on Thursday and urged him to take the form a special task force to curtail poaching and illegal tree felling in the eco-sensitive areas of the Aravallis.

“Despite repeated complaints to the forest department regarding rampant and illegal construction in the Aravallis, no action has been taken,” Vaishali Rana Chandra, a resident of Valley View Estate, said adding that the minister assured them that he will take necessary action to protect wildlife in the area.

The activists further claimed that the Aravalli forest is rapidly turning into a garbage dump, with waste from Gurgaon being dumped willy-nilly across many areas of the Aravallis. They said that several nilgais and other animals died after feeding on the waste.

The activists further claimed that construction debris is being dumped in the foothills of the Aravallis, which is also a water recharging zone. They called for immediate punitive action to stop such activities.

Officials of the forest department said they have been directed by the Union minister to curb poaching in the Aravallis. “We have formed a team and will carry out a combing operation in the area to nab people involved in poaching and unauthorised tree felling,” D Hembram, conservator of forest, South Haryana, said.